Well yes, the time has come. Another senior editor leaving ABC, but this time of his own free will. Thirty-four years in the sports section playing all the genres and since 2005 directing the successful supplement ABC de la Vela, in the first instance and ABC de la Náutica, later. Almost 20 years of supplement reporting on the world of sailing and, of course, telling the truth, a truth that has cost me a lot of trouble, but now I laugh at those who wanted to and couldn’t silence me.
To be fair, I want to thank Emma Peña and Icíar Miner, who have been the “mothers” of this supplement and have given it the spectacular nature that it has. To Nicolás Terry, Jaume Soler, Dury Alonso and José Luis Suevos, who have contributed their pen from number zero in an altruistic way. To the advertising department, with Fernando Álvarez first and Alberto de los Santos and Javier Mira, later. And to David Peiró, the cloth of tears inside the House of ABC. I do not want to fail to show my gratitude to Catalina Luca de Tena, our editor.
The truth is that we had a very good time. We have had the support of almost all of the newspaper’s directors, especially José Antonio Zarzalejos, and we have tried to be very faithful to “The Value of the Word”, ABC’s slogan. We have felt very valued at some moments, as well as disowned by certain characters. Envy is free and it is known that when someone is successful there are people who are not able to assimilate it.
The balance has been positive. The product has been good, the economic aspect has never taken precedence over the informative aspect; The truth has prevailed in each and every one of the 224 issues published and we have always taken perfectly the quarrels of third parties for being upright in our ideals and not wanting to distort the truth, but that happens in all great families.
In short, the world is not ending. It was my penultimate board. Tomorrow, November 1, I will no longer write or edit any text in any product of what has been, until today, my House. Now, that doesn’t mean I quit. Sailing has practically been my life and I am not going to abandon it.
There have been many trips around the world since time immemorial, many Copa América, the last one won by the Kiwis in Barcelona, many Olympic Games seeing our team win medals, many regattas on large circuits such as 52 Super Series and RC 44, many interviews, among them King Juan Carlos and King Felipe and many children’s and youth regattas. Nothing has been left out because I have been faithful to my principles.
There will be surprises and some people’s hair will stand on end, but in the meantime I will resume my personal page Cuentosdeperiodismo.com and my blog “Las Verdades del Barquero.”
#Penultimate #board
